Our review

How good would it be to have a 30 months 0% p.a. balance transfer deal – longer than most others available in Australia – and still enjoy all the convenient features you’ve come to expect from a card issued by one of the Big Four banks? The Westpac Low Rate Credit Card Exclusive Offer could be very attractive indeed for anyone whose current financial situation means that they could make good use of a long-term, low-cost balance transfer.

Two ways to make use of a 30 months 0% p.a. balance transfer

0% p.a. balance transfer offers are usually taken up for one of two reasons.

In the first case, the prospective cardholder may have incurred a large debt on an existing card, a debt they are struggling to repay because the monthly repayments are almost cancelled out by the high interest rate applied to the unpaid balance.

The second case may involve someone with recent large expenditure which could be repaid at the end of the month without too much difficulty, but for whom the balance transfer deal offers an opportunity for actually earning interest.

Save an enormous amount of interest

Let’s suppose you have a debt of $10,000 on your existing card, an amount that might take you years to repay if you are paying 20% p.a. in interest charges. By transferring the balance to your new Westpac card you will save a staggering $4,743 in interest over the next 30 months.

There is, however, a 2% balance transfer fee to be paid upfront. The 2% fee on $10,000 would be $200, reducing your interest saving to a still massive $4,543.

Alternatively, earn a little interest

As previously explained, a balance transfer could still be attractive to someone who foresees no difficulty in avoiding interest by repaying their large balance when payment becomes due. In their hands, a balance transfer can earn interest. They can put the cash in a 3% savings account or 4% mortgage offset account, instead of using it for the repayment.

Unfortunately, the balance transfer fee does significantly diminish the benefit in this case. A $10,000 savings account deposit would earn $778 in 30 months, reduced to $578 after paying the $200 transfer fee. The mortgage offset account produces a better result, reducing mortgage interest by a net $850 over 30 months.

Avoid the revert rate

The revert rate for transferred balances unpaid after 30 months is the seriously unpleasant cash advance rate of 21.49% p.a., and it needs to be sidestepped if possible. Make a diary note of the date on which the 30 months 0% p.a. offer expires, and aim to have the debt fully cleared by that time.

Interest-free days on purchases temporarily suspended

Balance transfers have one particularly unpleasant side effect: they effectively prevent you from using your new card for purchases because you have temporarily surrendered the monthly interest-free period normally allowed – Up to 55 days on purchases period in this case.

While your unpaid balance transfer remains on your account, you may wish to use another card, or cash, for your regular purchases and bills. Otherwise, you’ll be paying the ongoing purchase interest rate (relatively low, but still significant) from the date of each transaction.

But’SmartPlan’ repayments allow you to retain interest-free days on purchases*

There is, however, a way to have your cake and eat it – have a balance transfer, that is, and still retain your interest-free days. Simply commit to a fixed monthly repayment of your balance transfer under the Westpac SmartPlan program.

Low ongoing purchase interest rate of 13.49% p.a.

Even if you take up the balance transfer offer, you can still take advantage of the low ongoing purchase interest rate of 13.49% p.a. (and even retain your interest-free days if you commit to a SmartPlan on your purchases balance as well). While this is certainly a relatively low rate for a credit card, there are cards around with lower ongoing rates. But they don’t come with a 30 months 0% p.a. balance transfer deal attached.

You’ll appreciate this low rate if you experience short-term liquidity problems in the future, or if you are simply late with a repayment and end up forfeiting your interest-free days for two months. Temporarily paying 13.49% p.a. is a whole lot better than paying the more than 20% p.a. charged by some cards.

All the standard credit card features and convenience

Even though it’s a low-rate card with a relatively low annual fee, you still get convenient features and security, including:

Westpac’s Fraud Money Back Guarantee

Westpac Added Online Security system

Tap and pay microchip

Card Autopay option

Quick Balance to see how much you owe (and how much is left in your limit) at a glance

Turn your smartphone or Westpac Paywear wristband into a mobile wallet, and leave your card at home

Low $59 p.a. annual fee

Since this card has neither rewards points nor platinum benefits (such as complimentary insurance policies), it is quite cheap. For the long introductory balance transfer deal and the peace of mind of a low ongoing interest rate, $59 p.a. per year is a relatively low price to pay.

$59 p.a. fee waived in first year

But it gets even better. You can try this card for size for 12 months and pay absolutely nothing, because the fee is $0 p.a. in the first year.

Are there any serious competitors?

Credit card issuers compete with each other non-stop, and a long zero-interest balance transfer offer is one of their favourite ways to tempt customers away from their competitors. There are plenty of cards currently available with zero-interest balance transfer offers ranging length from 20 to 26 months. Click on the ‘Features’ button at the top of this page, and then select ‘Balance transfer’ to review offers similar to this one.

Why this card may be the one for you

The Westpac Low Rate Credit Card Exclusive Offer is clearly aimed at someone looking for the longest $0 p.a. balance transfer they can find. As long as you are not in the market for platinum insurance policies or rewards points, it definitely offers a cheap deal with one of the lowest ongoing interest rates.

Disclaimer: The minimum criteria pointers are intended only to be a guide. Your application may still be rejected by the bank even if you can answer 'Yes' to all the minimum criteria. The final decision regarding your application is up to the bank.